The way it grows

I thought you might be interested to learn a little about Israeli flora.
Here is a fruit that local people call 'shessek'. As I found out, the English name for it is loquat. I never tried it before I came to Israel, and even there, as I understood, this fruit is available for a short time in a year. It tastes both sweet and sour, and it's juicy like mango. I liked it.



This is papaya. Some of you might be familiar with it already but I never saw it before and never tried.



Lemon tree is not intended to surprise anybody, I just like the way it looks when heavy with ripe fruits.



Eucalypt tree is not a big deal either, but that was my first acquaintance with its blossom.



This is the real poppy we found in a rock desert. I believe it was the last one this year because summer was getting on quickly.



And a little bit of blossom all around. Pink:



And yellow:

Starting for Israel

It was cold and rainy when we were leaving Moscow nearly 3 weeks back. We were sitting by a window in an airport cafe, sipping our hot coffee and watching planes through the crying-like glass.

You know, it's a kind of tradition with us to have a cup of coffee in the airport before the flight.

A few hours later, arrived to Tel Aviv, we found perfectly sunny and very warm day and went out for a walk.

It must be some famous mosque in the seaside of the city but I don't know what it is.

Approaching Jaffa - the old port town. Here pilgrims landed on their way to Jerusalem.

We were absolutely charmed with its sea-facing porches and magnificent views.